Tag: Sesame

Yesterday, at a surprise baby shower (a great success, by the way), I enjoyed the glorious English tradition of afternoon tea, with a slightly less traditional glass of fizz. Feasting on finger sandwiches, scones and clotted cream was an incredibly pleasant way to while away the hours before the long winter night set in. However, after all of that utter decadence my evening meal had to be something well behaved and virtuous.

When I’m after something tasty but virtuous my mind always turns to Japanese food. I am by no means an expert in this area, I’ve never been to Japan (although I’d love to go, if it didn’t involve being on a plane for a ridiculous amount of time) but I have eaten enough Japanese food to know that I love it!

This dish is not in any way authentic but it does bring together a few of my favourite flavours and ingredients in a way that is super tasty and incredibly easy to prepare after a hard day of jamming scones into your face. (continue reading…)

This weekend the freakishly good British summer has finally come to a very depressing end. The skies have opened and it’s time to retreat to the kitchen and crank the oven up to a blisteringly hot temperature.

One of the finest ways to spend a rainy Saturday morning has to be whipping up a fabulous loaf to provide you with all of your weekend sarnies and toast. There really is nothing quite like the taste of a loaf that you’ve made from scratch with your own fair hands.

It takes a lot of patience to make a loaf. Even if you use a stand mixer to do the kneading, like I did here (always a good option with a wet dough like this one, but kneading by hand will do the trick too) you’ll still have to wait at least an hour for the dough to rise (or 2 hours with doughs like this one) and then another hour for the loaf to prove after shaping, but I promise it’s worth it. (continue reading…)